DAYTON, Ohio, Dec. 15 -- NewPage Corporation announces that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) voted affirmatively today that there is a reasonable indication that the U.S. paper industry is materially injured by coated free sheet (CFS) paper imports from China, Indonesia and South Korea.
Based on the ITC's determination, the case now proceeds to the U.S. Department of Commerce ("DOC"), which will investigate whether coated free sheet paper imports from China, Indonesia and South Korea are being dumped or subsidized. "We are very pleased with the ITC's affirmative preliminary determination," said Mark A. Suwyn, chairman and chief executive officer for NewPage Corporation. "The dumping and subsidization of Chinese, Indonesian and South Korean paper producers should not be tolerated and the governments of China, Indonesia and South Korea should stop subsidizing pulp and paper production and exports from those countries. We believe everyone should have a fair opportunity to compete in this market."
Coated free sheet paper is used in many high-end commercial printing applications. End uses include annual reports, coffee table books, magazines and brochures.
"This is a large and important industry that employs thousands of workers across the United States," added Suwyn. "Imports from these countries have significantly increased over the past three years, up more than 50 percent from the beginning of 2006 through October. In the last year, we've watched many paper machines shut down in the United States as a result of competition from low-priced imports. The ITC's decision is an important next step for imposing antidumping and countervailing duty orders that are necessary to correct the market distortion in the American paper industry and the American manufacturing base."
Gilbert B. Kaplan, a Partner at King & Spalding law firm which represents NewPage Corporation the petitioner in these cases, noted: "It is gratifying that the ITC found a preliminary indication of injury. This is a particularly important case because the Department of Commerce, in a break with past practice, has initiated a countervailing duty case against China. It is very important that the United States stands up against Chinese subsidized exports."